Plan the Best Summer You Can {Day 2}

Here we go - Day #2

Thursday, May 2: Educate us on something you know alot about or are good at.

I think I'm a know it all - I like to talk and teach.  I could tell someone where to take their kids in Texas, how to plan a Disney vacation, why living in Austin is so much better than Dallas, how to run a PTA meeting, how to teach kids to pray, why Zyrtec is far superior than Claritin or Allegra and on and on and on.

Yet when someone asks me to educate them on something I know a lot about, my mind goes completely blank.

So here goes what is top of mind 24/7 - planning the best summer you can.

This summer, I encourage you to sit down with your family and plan out the fun you want to have.

Where does everyone want to go on vacation?  Let's decide as a family.

What kind of things do we want to do and accomplish this summer?  Brainstorm and come up with a list.

Look to add in things you can do in the city you live in.  What have you always wanted to try but never did?  What kind of fun activities can we do at home that you have always wanted to do?

Some of the most fun things we did last summer required little to no money at all:
Movie Day
Ice Cream for dinner
Built a fort out of pillows
Masking Tape racetrack
Geocaching
Find 5 new sprinkler parks/swimming pools in our area
Stay up real late playing games

We also planned a ton of fun day trips to places all over Texas - from Brenham to see Blue Bell Ice Cream factory to SpaceCenter in Houston to the Tower of Americas in San Antonio.

We put our giant summer "TO DO" list on a poster board in the kitchen and crossed off everything we did.  We didn't finish it all (had to leave stuff for this summer) but we never had a day of "I'm bored.  What should we do?"

It was a busy summer but it was a fun summer.  And I can't wait to do it all over again.

Preview: Summer 2011

Coming to this blog very soon........

Rain Dance

We need rain.  We are dying here.  We are in one of the worst droughts for the state since 1865.  Yikes.

And today?  We're predicted to hit 108.  Uh huh.

What am I dreaming of?  R.A.I.N.

 we saw rain this summer.

 but not here.

 we hadn't seen it for so long, that the kids went crazy out in it.

 and this mom let them.

they went crazy.  as if they had never seen rain before.

funny how a little bit of water falling from the sky can make you nutzo.

i'm ready for a little crazy.

Is Summer Almost Over?

Is school really starting in less than 2 weeks???  Can it be??  Wow- our summer flew by!!

These past few weeks since we have been home have been filled with PTA, Thirty-One (I became a consultant, y'all!!), and rearranging rooms.  So when my kids come to me, saying they are bored, and why can't we do something fun??, I simply remind them of all we have done so far this summer.....

 playing with dad at the beach....

trying new sweet treats.....

 getting knocked over by the waves.....

 experiencing the beach for the first time...

 fun new experiences with mom & dad...

 doing a rain dance and hoping it goes to Texas...

 getting a "VIP" tour of the Illinois State Capitol...

 learning all about Mr. Lincoln and rubbing his nose for good luck...

 and laughter...plenty & plenty of laughter....

We had a fantastic summer!

Linking up with Things I Can't Say's Summer Fun Show-Off!!  

A great way to re-cap your summer fun & possibly win a great prize!!

And if you had fun with this one, please link up tomorrow at R We There Yet Mom? for Friday Daydreamin'.  Post your favorite vacation picture, link up with the party and spend a few minutes sharing in everyone's Friday Daydreams!!!

U.S.S. Alabama

Can I tell you how excited I am that 10 people linked up last week for the R We There Yet Mom's Friday Daydreamin???  So happy - thank you guys all for participating - this Friday will be another post, so join it - super easy fun!

We had so many great adventures this summer that I want to blog about - traveling 9 states and over 2500 miles, you end up having a lot to talk about!

When we traveled home from Florida in June, the kids and I headed up to Illinois for an extended visit while Matt headed home to work (boo).  Lucky for us, my amazingly, sweet Mother -in-law drove from FL to IL with us.  She didn't know how much fun staying in a hotel room with the baby could be....

To break up the 13+ hour drive, we planned a few stops along the way, the first being the U.S.S. Alabama, located in bay in Mobile, AL.  We saw it as we drove thorough Mobile on our way to the beach the week before and knew it would fascinate Brody.  It did not disappoint.

The USS Alabama is HUGE!! She is longer than 2 football fields and taller than a 20 story building.  When she would go through the Panama Canal, she barely scraped through...with 11 inches on each side!  

A short history lesson (cause you know how much I love me some history)....placed into full commission in 1942, the USS Alabama spent most of her time fighting in the Pacific during WWII.  She was decommissioned in 1947 while in Bremerton, WAA. Towed back to Alabama in 1964, she officially opened as a war museum in 1965, by the citizens of Alabama to "honor those brave Men & women who fought in WWII".

She was called the "Lucky A", because during WWII, she lost NO American lives aboard her due to enemy fire.

The USS Alabama sits in the Mobile Bay and is used as a hurricane shelter.  In fact, 18 families were aboard during Hurricane Katrina.

It's a long hike up that gangway!!

We took our time exploring the whole ship - from sitting in gunner-seats (official term?  I don't know...) to climbing up as high as we could go (no a/c....ick) to exploring all the upper & lower decks.

She was set up as it was during WWII.  We saw bunks, which all three kids had to try out.  We saw the mailroom, the "bank" where crewmen would get paid each week.  We saw the barber shop, the ice cream parlor, & the commissary where you could get your cigarettes and chewing tobacco.

It was amazing to us to imagine being on this ship for months on end and how organized and thought out those months would have to be.  I mean, think of this -The cooks had to prepare 7500 meals a day, that's 50,000 a week, over 2.5 million a year...all in the middle of the ocean!!!  We learned that Holy cow!

Coffee in the morning took 4 big 80 gallon pots to make 320 gallons of coffee.  And this is how thy would serve it.....from 2 big spigots.  I'm sure back then, you didn't really care how you got your coffee...just so you could have it!

Battleship Park was created in 1965 to house the USS Alabama, with the majority of the fundraising done by Alabama school children. There is a ton of things to see and do here.  With tanks, planes, and more.

 The park itself houses 22 plans from the past seven decades - very cool to see them all.  And we were also able to go through a WWII nuclear submarine. Talk about claustrophobic!!!

I am so glad that we stopped - it was a little hard to go through everything with the baby(thank you Jan!!), o we didn't stay as long as we could have - but it was such a neat experience.  Just walking back in time and imagining ourself in the middle of the ocean during WWII puts everything into perspective...how much these young men sacrificed to fight for their country....to fight for everything we now have & enjoy.  I am so glad that my kids were able to see this.  We all walked away with a better appreciation.

Splish-Splash.......it's Summer!

Man, it's only the beginning of June and we have already had SEVERAL days in the 100's.  Yikes! It is going to be a HOT HOT HOT summer.

Good thing we have a brand new splash pad that just opened up.......

 Bubba loved the Splash pad last summer, so as soon as this one, aptly named the Quarry, opened, we jumped on it.  Slightly different than most in the area, this one has "rocks" that spray water, a big covered sand pit, and a cute little "rock" slide.

ohhhh...i just love his chubby little feet.....

 and his chubby little cheeks.....

sweet Bubba of mine....

Summer 2011 - What's the Plan Stan?

I've been waiting for it.......

There is SO much to do and only 87 85 days to enjoy it all!!!  So where do we start??

With our Summer challenge, of course.  2 Years ago, we did the Postcards from 50 States Challenge and last year, we attempted to read 100 Books of Summer.  We were able to get to 100, but it wasn't before school started, so we are at it again - 100 Books (chapter) read by the 4 readers in the house.  We loaded up on books at the library and Sis bought 4 of the Little House series at B & N today.  We have our poster drawn up and we are ready to roll.

We have a few camps lined up these first few weeks - Brody is headed to Cub Scout camp and we are all doing VBS "God is Wild!!" for a week - I am volunteering again this year - leading the worship - so excited!!!

After that we are headed to this
little slice of paradise:

We are spending a week at a house at Santa Rosa Beach, FL.

I can not wait to see the white sands and blue water - the kids are gonna LOVE it!!






We are heading up to Illinois for a few weeks to spend time with family.  I plan to educate the kids a little while we are up there.  We will be learning all about this guy.....

Also, during our cross-country travels, I promised to take Sis to this famous place:

I promised the kids that I would take them to the City Museum in St. Louis again.  Last year, we didn't get there until after lunch and we didn't get to all the fun outside, so we will definitely spend as much time as  possible there this year. This is quite possibly one of the BEST Children's museums I have ever been to - all designed by local artists, with amazing climbing structures, slides, tunnels, etc.  It is so much fun.

We will also get more geocaching, camping (the kids, NOT me) and plenty of time at the pool while we are there.

But the main reason we will be in Illinois this summer is to celebrate the marriage of one of my favorite couples:

We will also be doing 3 room makeovers in August ~ Bubba to Sissy's and Sissy to Bubba's.  Sis wants a room dedicated to reading, Bubba is getting a Letter wall, and Brody keeps going back & forth with a Star Wars theme or a WWII Fighter Plane theme.  Either way, I've told you have "un-crafty" I am, so we will see how all this turns out.

Today I came across the Four Season's Austin Ultimate Scavenger Hunt - 50 places unique to Austin ~ from 2-stepping at the Broken Spoke, to kayaking on Town Lake, to taking a train ride on the Zilker Zepher, to eating at Amy's Ice Cream ~ if you do at least 25 of the 50, you win a prize.  Sounds right up my alley......but with a 2 year old in tow??  Might make things difficult....... 

Lastly, many have asked when the 3rd Annual Bloggy Flip Flop Exchange will be happening.....stayed turned for details coming next week!!

Welcome 2 Summer!!!

School's Out for Summer!!!!!

After a week filled with end of year events & parties, a school-wide book swap, and early mornings for my almost-5th-grader-practicing safety patrol for next year:

Academic Awards for both:

And tearful goodbyes to favorite teachers:

 We officially "welcomed summer" with our annual bus stop "Welcome 2 Summer" popsicle party!!!

We have so much fun planned for the next 87 days!  Can't wait to tell you all about it!!

Don't forget to enter our "Keep Austin Weird" contest - even if you don't know the other 5 bloggers, take a guess - the prizes are super great!!